This is a classic internet argument, and we’re not here to finish it. Instead, we’re here to give you a starting point to find the one that best fits your needs. There will be a quick pro’s and cons, then a few personal observations about each optic.

EOTech

Pro’s

Better reticle

Better field of view

Reticle is at correct height to cowitness with M4/AR-15 pattern rifles

Cons

Reliability

Battery Life

Polarized lenses

Aimpoint

Pro’s

Reliability

Battery Life

Can cowitness on an AK pattern rifle

Cons

Field of view

Reticle

Requires a spacer to cowitness on an AR-15/M4 pattern rifle

A few personal observations on these two optics. I purchased an EOTech first, and have sent it back to the factory once for repair. EOTech did a good job and I got it back very quickly. A core design flaw with the EOTech is that the batteries on most models are mounted on axis with recoil, which causes them to beat against their contact points. Over time, this can lead to poor connections and intermittent reliability. EOTech’s latest design has the battery mounted perpendicular to the recoil axis, which has solved some problems but apparently some of the batteries don’t hold up to the recoil, of all strange things. I have no personal experience with the new EOTech configuration. You will note that I added polarization to a Con for EOTechs. If you have polarized sunglasses, and are shooting from an odd angle (like flat on your back), you may not be able to see your reticle. An interesting detail.

That said about the EOTech, the reticle is the primary selling point to me. For shooting people at close distances, sight offset is a big deal. With the EOTech, you don’t even have to guess – put the bottom post where you want the bullets to go and you are good to go. Further out, put the target in the circle and generally life is good. Even further out, put the dot on target and you are good to go. If you really know your reticle, you can even do some rudimentary range guessing with it. For fast and ugly shooting, hard to beat the EOTech.

EOTech on an AR-15

The Aimpoint is known for two things – nearly indestructible, and near magical battery life. The first point is proven by the fact Aimpoints were issued to the Army. As anyone who knows infantry can tell you, take 3 grunts, lock them in a room with 3 anvils, and in 30 minutes come back. One anvil will be broken, one anvil will be pristine in the middle of the room, and they will swear the third was never issued to them. Somehow, these optics survive in that type of environment. There are a number of stories of Aimpoints surviving when the gun was trashed from downrange. The battery life is impressive as well – ten to fifty thousand hours off of one battery, depending on model and brightness. Click it on and forget about it for months.

Aimpoint Co-witnessed with AK pattern rifle

The last point I want to make it platform specific. For AK’s, the Aimpoint is preferable as they co-witness with the irons. For AR-15/M4, EOTech co-witnesses out of the box, but you can buy a spacer to get an Aimpoint up to your irons. I do not recommend an EOTech for AK pattern rifles, as you cannot co-witness the sights. I am a firm believer in having a mechanical backup to electronics when my life is on the line.

One thought on “EOTech vs. Aimpoint”

I am also a firm believer in having a mechanical backup to electronic sights, and this isn’t just a survival practice. I’ve been to the range and pulled the gun out and turned the sight on to get NOTHING. What a drag…however, on my weapons with mechanical backup, I just fire away.